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Viewed strictly through the prism of 1999, it is shocking that Fenway Park not only is still standing, but restored with more than $285 million of new renovations.
https://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2012/04/06/saving-fenway/8HGlzAxzVSoo8zNvfIgkxL/story.html

I found this video interesting on how Seattle's Building Codes may be one of the reason for the housing prices to skyrocket. I know we gripe on this site about building height but i'm not sure how strict Nashville metro building codes are since constructions site don't have to put up covered sidewalks! This is an interesting perspective.

The York Row building interiors had been stripped of everything except for one fireplace mantle and could not be restored. P&A Associates would instead preserve the front facade of the houses, back to the roof ridge line
Preservationists were critical of how the York Row houses were preserved. Calling them "facadectomies", vice president of the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia J. Randall Cotton felt that saving the facades did not preserve the essence of the buildings, but that it was better than nothing.

The St James in Philly has the exact same foot print as the Church st Park. I have been in the St James and parking is not an issue unless you have a Suburban then it gets difficult to park in there. I had a Buick Enclave and I felt I was going to scrape the sides when making the turns. The St James is the tallest Residential Building in Philly. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_St._James

I grew up in Boston. The subway was funded and run privately by West End Railway until 1947 when the MBTA (F.K.A. Metro Transit Authority) took over. Mostly all northeast Mass transits started privately until the local governments took them over in the 40's/50's.

100% agree. But I think it should be a Civil War Museum for the whole State of TN! Or include all the Western Front. TN had the Second most Battles next the Virginia and some very important ones not far outside of Nashville.
Also there has been chatter that Harrisburg PA might close the The National Civil War Museum.

Well I think Boston will be out of the running. Has anyone looked at their proposal? Its Suffolk Downs site right next to Logan, right next to an OIL Refinery. And since we always complain about height regulations on this site, well Suffolk Downs only allows 150". I think Boston just threw in their hat to see how far they can get. I'm sure Amazon loves the smell of Oil and Jet fuel in the morning!
Logan Airport FFA Height regulations
http://www.massport.com/media/1545/boston-logan-airspace-map.pdf
Boston Proposal
https://amazon.boston.gov/

A good read..
"The fastest growth in educated millennials today is taking place not in New York, Washington or San Francis co, but in opportunity cities like Nashville, Denver, Charlotte, Raleigh and Orlando,”
https://chiefexecutive.net/why-the-amazonhq2-list-is-great-news-for-every-ceo/

If Nashville makes the Top 5 and with Amazon looking at the Healthcare industry as huge growth opportunity. This would lift Nashville up! http://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/wait-what-amazon-and-apple-eye-building-ehrs

Im assuming some of you are not able to read the WSJ article so I attached the Methodology for their analysis. The one thing this is not taking into consideration is Site and Time to Operations. Which can change the rankings. Again where is there 100 acres available and ready to build now in Boston? This is where I believe a southern State will win out.
*Newark includes all of Northern New Jersey
COLLEGE POPULATION: Percentage of population that is college educated.
TECH LABOR FORCE: Total labor force in a tech occupation. Includes tech jobs not in the tech industry.
FISCAL HEALTH: Cities are scored on metrics including ratio of general fund balance to expenditures; ratio of pension contributions to total government-wide revenues; change in unemployment rate in 2015; and change in property values in 2015.
COST OF LIVING: Estimated cost of living for mid-management households by weighting different consumer expenditure categories.
CULTURAL FIT: Sites that reflect "Cultural Community Fit" and "Community/Quality of Life" as outlined in the Amazon request-for-proposals. Strong universities, diverse population, recreational opportunities, and an overall high quality of life. Excludes government incentive packages.
STATE TAX RANK: Rank of tax rates (including corporate, income and property-tax ranks). One is lowest tax state, 50 is highest tax state.
Site/Building - A greenfield site of approximately 100 acres certified or pad ready.
Capital and Operating Costs - A stable and business-friendly environment and tax structure will be high-priority.
Incentives - land, site preparation, tax credits/exemptions, relocation grants, workforce grants, utility incentives/grants, permitting, and fee reductions
Labor Force - Strong University system.
Logistics – Travel time to an international airport with daily direct flights to Seattle, New York, San Francisco/Bay Area, and Washington, D.C. is also an important consideration.
Time to Operations – To begin Construction as soon as possible
Cultural Community Fit – a diverse population, strong higher-education system, and local government that is eager and willing to work with the company.
Community/quality of life - The new headquarters should be in a place where people want to live.

After reading this article I feel Nashville has lot going for them, ie better fit than the bigger Northern cities. Also I feel when people hear infrastructure they assume roads but that also includes connectivity (fiber network) and if you look at the actual RFP it mentions connectivity. Nashville has been mentioned in PC Mag as having a pretty good Broadband network.
Key Preference and Decision Driver
Site/Building - A greenfield site of approximately 100 acres certified or pad ready. (What northern city have this readily available? )
Capital and Operating Costs - A stable and business-friendly environment and tax structure will be high-priority.
Incentives - land, site preparation, tax credits/exemptions, relocation grants, workforce grants, utility incentives/grants, permitting, and fee reductions
Labor Force - Strong University system.
Logistics – Travel time to an international airport with daily direct flights to Seattle, New York, San Francisco/Bay Area, and Washington, D.C. is also an important consideration. (BNA is getting there)
Time to Operations – To begin Construction as soon as possible (What northern city have this can do this? )
Cultural Community Fit – a diverse population, strong higher-education system, and local government that is eager and willing to work with the company.
Community/quality of life - The new headquarters should be in a place where people want to live. (It city!)
Additional Information
Connectivity - Ensuring optimal fiber connectivity is paramount at our HQ2 location